Back to all glossary articles

Data protection authority (DPA)

A data protection authority (DPA) is an independent public authority that supervises the application of the data protection law and protects the fundamental rights and freedoms of data subjects related to the processing of Personal data . Each EU Member State has its own DPA.

The primary roles of DPAs in the EU involve:

  • Handling data breach reports.
  • Consistently interpreting and enforcing Data privacy and protection laws across the EU.
  • Offering expert advice to businesses on data protection issues and compliance.
  • Managing complaints from individuals alleging GDPR violations.
  • Interpreting aspects of EU law, particularly regarding GDPR.
  • Managing fines and other noncompliance penalties.
Data controllers

are typically obligated to inform users about their right to lodge a complaint and provide information about the DPA to reach out to.

  • HIPAA-compliant analytics for healthcare systems: How hospital marketing teams can measure what matters

    Patients now research symptoms, compare providers, and book appointments entirely online before ever contacting a hospital. Healthcare marketers need to adapt to digital-first patient journeys, run campaigns for numerous service lines, manage hospital marketing analytics across multiple locations, and prove ROI to administrators. For nonprofit hospitals, the picture is broader still — donation tracking is…

  • Privacy by design in practice: How “just enough” data beats “just in case” collection

    While collecting more data “just in case” feels safer, according to Matt Gershoff, it’s also one of the biggest sources of unnecessary compliance risk, analytical noise, and wasted organizational resources in the analytics industry today. His approach of “just enough” data collection is more intentional, more aligned with privacy regulation, and often more analytically effective.

Other definitions

Recent posts from Piwik PRO blog